Early Spring

Early Spring, oil on gessobord, 6x6"

The weather is like none other this year. Call it what you will, but it's not normal. These jonquils sprouted quickly and bloomed in February. Regardless of time of year, they are always beautiful, and welcoming...a definite ushering in of spring.

"Fair and Balanced"

"Fair and Balanced" oil on gessobord, 6x6"

#stradaeasel, day 27

I expanded on yesterday's carrots with the rest of the root vegetables. I like to call them soup vegetables! They are even more fun to paint then fruit.

A Little VItamin A

"A little vitamin A"

oil on gessobord, 6x6"

Day 26 of the strada easel, paint from life, 31 day challenge.  Whew. This challenge has been very... challenging!!  I have reverted to still life for most of the challenge which in the past caused me to break out in metaphorical hives.   I am finally getting more comfortable after spending more then half the challenge in the world of fruit and vegetables.  All my paintings from this challenge have been posted to my FB studio page.

Crooked Smile

With the inauguration still hanging in the air and all the immediate pen swipes taking place - including the National Endowment for the Arts, I really wanted to call this painting..."There was a crooked man and he had a crooked smile"  I want to feel like the country is moving forward but it is hard when a single human is standing in the way.

Stacked

"Stacked" oil on gessobord, 6x6"

Nine more paintings to do for this "paint from life challenge" for strada easel. It has been difficult in many ways, but I have been working with the difficulty and working through it. Today's painting was almost swiped many times, and it took me longer to do it than originally intended. I stuck with it...as a challenge to myself. It's not the best but, again, it was by far the hardest.

"Top Heavy"

"Top Heavy", oil on gessobord, 6x6"

It's all apples and oranges to me. Or so it seems.

Opposites Attract

Opposites Attract, oil on gessobord, 6x6"

A second still life for day 11, with different apples. Yesterday's apples were consumed immediately after posting, with wine and cheese. It was a great dinner 

Three's a Crowd

"Three's a crowd",oil on gessobord, 6x6"

I'm one third of the way through the painting challenge, and unfortunately I am running out of gas. The weather doesn't allow me to go outside to paint. I am getting off work so late there is no daylight left, therefore, I am tired and lacking the ability to concentrate very long. Here is a still life, fresh off the easel. Now its time for a glass of wine.

Limes on Stripes

"Limes on Stripes", oil on arches paper, 6x8"

Day 5, #stadaeasel,
It's snowing outside today, so that means a snow day in Louisville. Not sure if I'm going to venture out in the snow just yet so I painted a quick still life. I haven't done one in a long time, so it was fun!

Graduation Carnation

Graduation Carnation, oil on gessobord, 10 x 8"

I have been enjoying all the lovely painted flowers on DPW so I wanted to try it myself. The only flowers I could find were some carnations given to my son by a fellow student, for his high school graduation. I haven't had much luck in the flower area, though it hasn't been for the lack of trying. This one turned out to my liking!

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/celia-kelly/graduation-carnation/393444

Two's for Tea

Two's for Tea, oil on gessobord, 6x6"

I was definitely was in the middle of an aggravating block not too long ago, not that I feel that it has completely passed. Regardless, I had bought bags of lemons, and limes because just having them in the house makes me feel better, and they remind me of California and sitting on my sister and brother-in-law's deck in Napa.

So what's left to do but paint them. I decided beforehand I was not going to fret the small stuff, so once I got the composition where I wanted it, I used a big brush and the rest is history.
For purchase info click here

Lil' Runaway

Lil' Runaway, oil  on gessobord, 6x6 inches

Beautiful tomatoes that I crave in the winter.  Must be the lack of the sun which equals fresh from the garden during the summer. Before they were eaten they had their portrait painted :-)

Stop Copying Me

Stop Copying Me, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

This is part of Leslie Saeta's 30 day challenge. 

I did a quick and fun drawing of one of a bunch of flowers given to me over the Holidays.  I hope to do more flowers, which I continually struggle with, because this was enjoyable.

From Mary's Garden

From Mary's Garden, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

sold 

My friend Mary grows these beautiful Japanese eggplants in the summer. After she bought one of my paintings earlier this  month, I couldn't resist doing this commission for her.

Eggplants are such a beautiful vegetable, have gorgeous whimsical leaves, and the color is rich, like none other. The only problem I had when painting these handsome creatures was trepidation that it might not turn out to her liking. But she loves it, as do I, so all is well :-) 

The Three Graces

The Three Graces, oil on gessobord, 6x8 inches

Oh Sunflowers on a cold, cold day; what could be better? I painted these graces from a photo that my sister sent me last summer as she was traveling around France.  I have looked at the photo almost everyday since I received it. I finally decided to paint it, with cold hands, in my cold house, to radiate a little warmth for my soul.

Fallen

Fallen, Oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

Time for a closeup, of Fall that is.  I was given two little burning bush leaves a few days ago and I sat them on my nightstand to admire. As the trees started losing their leaves during the rapid stage, I took a closer look and decided they were an appropriate subject matter. I tried to convey the individuality and differences of the leaves even though they came from the same bush.   I don't do too many still life, but this was definitely a nice change.

Waterlilies at night

Waterlilies at Night, oil on canvas, 10x10 inches

The entire time I was painting Waterlilies at Night, I kept muttering sarcastically to myself, "well this is interesting".  I went back to canvas for this one, and for many reasons it slowed me down.  I started out by sketching circles all over the canvas according to the photograph, and it actually made me dizzy! And, as I got more in-depth with the painting, I couldn't figure out if the lilies looked more like green fortune cookies or pac-men :-)

The photo from which I worked had been taken after sunset in a backyard pond. My son won a College Scholarship from the local St. James Art Festival, and the artists were given a nice reception in the backyard of an historic building that houses the foundation offices.  The waterlilies caught my attention as we were walking out, and I snapped a few quick photos.  

Using various tints and shades of the same color does not come easy for me so this subject matter gave me good practice and I have to say, overall it WAS an interesting process.

Strange Redfellows

Strange Redfellows, oil on gesso board, 5x7

I uprooted the unruly tomato plants over the last weekend because none of the tomatoes were ripening any longer.  These were a few of the last to do that; the rest were green (which I hope to paint also). The funny thing about this painting is I executed it with very little light. I moved my easel outside a few days ago because the summer heat has left Louisville temporarily. When I actually get home from work it's late, and by the time I cook dinner for the "3teens", the light has faded.  In turn, I painted with brighter colors and more medium for reflection....and what a nice surprise this morning when I looked at it in the light.

Season of the Plums

Season of the Plums, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

These little plums proved to be more difficult to paint than tomatoes.  I tried to put shockingly bright light on them to produce light and shadow, which is evident from the painting, but I had to ad-lib a little on color.  Nevertheless, I am happy with it. Now, time for plum torte!

Entwined Vines

Off the Vine, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

I'm still recovering from this bout of sickness and definitely lacking energy.  Because of this, these little sketches have been fun and relatively quick.  Tomatoes are on every window in my kitchen, so I don't have to put a lot of brain power (which I don't have right now!) into subject matter.  They are beautiful to look at, and the reds and greens are striking.  These two looked like better halves with their vines entwined :-)